Martin Schoeller
Six-year-old Johanna Gill puts a
protective hand on her sister, Eva. The twins both have mild autism, a disorder
linked to genetic inheritance.
More than 900 images were
published in National Geographic this year. Editor in Chief Chris
Johns chose his top ten. “Invariably the best photographs will always surprise
you. You’ll see something you couldn’t have imagined,” he says.
Watch Johns discuss his picks in
a video from
the December digital
edition ofNational Geographic.
Mitch Dobrowner
A dying tornado like this one is
said to be in the "roping out" phase.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Lynn Johnson
Aidyng Kyrgys caresses his
newborn baby girl, whom he refers to using a Tuvan term of endearment: anayim,
or "my little goat." There are only 235,000 Tuvan speakers in Russia.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Aaron Huey
Stanley Good Voice Elk, a heyoka on
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, burns sage to ritually
purify his surroundings. In Oglala spirituality, heyokas are recipients of
sacred visions who employ clownish speech and behavior to provoke spiritual
awareness and "keep balance," says Good Voice Elk. Through his mask,
he channels the power of an inherited spirit, which transforms him into Spider
Respects Nothing.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Aaron Huey
A passenger barely has room for
the journey home as a car is loaded with used clothing donated by a
Colorado-based Native American charity. Contrary to popular myth, Native
Americans do not automatically receive a monthly federal check and are not
exempt from taxes. The Oglala Lakota and other Sioux tribes have refused a
monetary settlement for the U.S.'s illegal seizure of the Black Hills, their
spiritual home.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Stephanie Sinclair
Eleven-year-old Turki Ahmed flies
a kite amid the rubble of Sadah, a northern antigovernment stronghold near
Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia. His ten-year-old cousin Afnan Hussein Ali
Jarallah al Tamani scampers behind him. Since 2004 an insurgency in the north
has destroyed much of the city, left hundreds dead, and driven more than
100,000 from their homes.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky
Beyond Buzescu's mansion
district, a kitchen belonging to a hard pressed Romani family serves as a dance
hall for Iasmina Iancu, six, twirling for her grandfather Ion, who raises her. Iasmina's
mother works in Spain. Many households contain only old and young, the rest
scattered across Europe to earn money.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Paolo Pellegrin
Markers of a richly Cuban outing at Havana
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns discuss his
picks in a video from the December digital edition of National Geographic.
Paul Nicklen
Emperor penguins can bolt away
for any number of reasons, as photographer Paul Nicklen discovered when he
spooked this group. "A tenth of a second after I took this picture, all I
could see were bubbles."
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
Michael "Nick" Nichols
Cloaked in the snows of
California's Sierra Nevada, the 3,200-year-old giant sequoia called the
President rises 247 feet .
Two other sequoias have wider trunks, but none has a larger crown, say the
scientists who climbed it. The figure at top seems taller than the other
climbers because he's standing forward on one of the great limbs.
Watch Editor in Chief Chris Johns
discuss his picks in a video from
the December digital
edition of National Geographic.
